I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the construction of bicycle pedals, and more specifically to an improved arrangement whereby the bicycle pedal is releasably locked to the sole of the biker's shoe so that positive forces are applied to the crank of the bicycle throughout the entire pedaling motion.
II. Discussion of the Prior Art
On racing or touring bicycles, greater pedaling efficiency results where the biker's foot applies force to the pedal on both the upstroke and the downstroke portion of the pedaling motion. In the past, pedals have been designed in which an axle secured to the crank has two spaced-apart flanges journaled for rotation about the axle and pairs of rubber blocks are secured between the two flanges, the rubber blocks providing flat surfaces against which the biker's shoe sole coacts. On racing and touring bikes, it has been the practice to also secure a metal basket-like structure on the flanges for receiving the toe portion of the biker's shoe and leather straps have been used to hold the shoe with the biker's toe in the basket.
This prior art pedal construction has a number of serious defects. First of all, the construction makes the pedal assembly excessively heavy, the trend in racing and touring bikes being to reduce the overall weight of the bicycle as much as possible. Secondly, because of the manner in which the biker's foot is secured to the pedal, in an emergency situation, time may be lost in attempting to disengage the foot from the pedal. Additionally, the weight of the basket structure tends to invert the pedal when it is not secured to the foot, such as when the biker first begins a ride and the basket rubs on the ground and is somewhat difficult to flip over so as to be in a position to allow his or her toe to be inserted into the basket.